Designing a Wellness Club in a historic building is difficult, but not impossible. This was demonstrated in the Turin project, between via Arsenale and the Archbishopric. Virgin Active really wanted to make this happen, choosing an important location to create one of their Club Collection (of which there are currently only two in Italy).
The sizing of the spaces is dictated by fixed relationships between usable surfaces and functions and the more complex the building is, the more complicated the design becomes, but in Turin the result was achieved anyway, thanks in part to attentive image management. Nothing was forced, but style was sought in environments that were already strongly characterized by finishings and volumes typical of important historic buildings.
The large entrance lounge became a mix of functions, from the reception area to the restaurant to the lounge area and Internet point, but it is also the epicenter of the entire Club and an area for socializing. The rest of the functions (pool, spa, fitness area, locker rooms) distributed on the two levels, were adapted to the particular layout of the floorplan without resorting to demolition.
A significant engineering work was implemented only for the swimming pool which, in any case, did not disrupt the structure, but to the contrary it highlighted its scenic appeal with a window that lets you easily admire the world of water from the lounge.
